Okotoks RCMP seize $45,000 worth of drugs

Okotoks RCMP say they are working their way up to the “supplier levels” of the local drug trade after seizing fentanyl, cocaine and ecstasy from a storage locker in Calgary.

On Feb. 18 at 3 p.m., members of the Okotoks RCMP’s general investigative section and crime reduction unit raided a storage locker in Calgary.

RCMP recovered 47 fentanyl pills, eight ounces of cocaine and 4.4 ounces of ecstasy. The drugs have an estimated street value of more than $45,000. Many of the drugs were packaged into smaller quantities, ready for distribution at the street-level. Police also seized several items of drug paraphernalia, including plastic bags, a weigh-scale, a coffee grinder used to break up drugs and a bill counter.

The bust was part of an on-going RCMP investigation targeting Okotoks’ drug trade.

Okotoks RCMP Staff Sgt. Jim Ross said officers are working their way up the supply chain with the seizure.

“We’re looking at more than just the sellers now, this is people that are supplying our sellers,” he said.

The seizure is one of a number of recent successes by general investigative and crime reduction officers targeting Okotoks’ drug trade, including a Jan. 15 search of a local home that netted $6,000 worth of drugs and $1,200 in cash.

Ross said the Feb. 18 discovery is larger than other recent cases, but it’s to be expected as officers target the supply level.

While it might amount to a small decrease in local supply, he said there sadly are others who will step in to fill the void.

Ross urges people to avoid fentanyl. He said it’s a lethal drug and even a small amount can be toxic. There were 90 deaths as a result of the drug in the Calgary area in 2015.

“Fentanyl, don’t do it at all,” he said. “It’s a dangerous drug, you have no idea what, when it’s being manufactured, is being put into those pills.”

Okotoks RCMP are searching for William Prince, 32, of Calgary. He is wanted on arrest warrants for three counts of possession for the purpose of trafficking under the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act.

Anyone with information regarding this case is asked to call Okotoks RCMP at 403-938-4202. Anonymous tips can be made to CrimeStoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS(8477).